


When there's dirt beneath the dirt

by risinggreatness



Series: Circle 'round the sun [104]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 12:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3446423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risinggreatness/pseuds/risinggreatness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(1/2 Pirate uprisings) Pirates overrun the galaxy; another war is at hand (not EU compliant)</p>
            </blockquote>





	When there's dirt beneath the dirt

“Thank you, Set. You did the right thing.”

Set bows slightly, heart racing.

Keriba IV is already lost, he knows that. Florrum was gone to pirate hands years ago, even before the Empire, from the stories Ahsoka tells. The Sevilles and the Vallaidos are new threats by comparison, but they are more likely to search out fresh territory.

There is no telling what else they may lose.

“I’d like to know what’s going to happen. May I stay?”

A few of the older masters appear shocked; it is still odd for them any Jedi knight may sit in council ( _an opportunity so few of the young knights take advantage of_ ).

Ahsoka and Luke nod approvingly.

\----------

Reports of piracy throughout the galaxy flood the Temple.

The Jedi are dispatched daily, no leave when they return. They try unsuccessfully to track the pirates, find some pattern to their attacks. They gain no further information.

Seddwia and Kai lead a troop of volunteer soldiers to the latest pillaged system. Nothing was left behind.

Leia is bombarded daily with questions from Republicans and Separatists. ( _How soon till you know anything? Who is behind this? Can you put a stop to it_?) Now, more than ever, she acts as a go between governments and the Jedi.

The pirates gain speed and the Jedi cannot keep pace.

Emptiness fills the apartment when Mara finally makes it home. Barely a word passed between them as she crossed paths with Luke in the hangar deck. Shmi, she knows, sleeps soundly at her cousins’ ( _Han and Chewie watch over the kids while everyone else chases shadows_ ).

Mara collapses into bed and keenly aware of the absence of her husband, she curls into herself. Her eyelids droop heavily, but cannot shut completely.

Blue light escapes the holo. Reluctantly, she lifts herself out of bed to respond.

“You better come quickly. We’re receiving a transmission you’ll want to see.”

Sleep will wait.

Ahsoka leans on the holotable of the communication center when Mara arrives. It throws off the same blue light as her home holo, but it is dimmer, grainer – the connection must be poor.

“What planet is that?”

“Myrkr. You know it?”

Very well. Karrde’s primary base of operations is there; the planet kept him well hidden. She did much of her work for him there. “What of it?”

The image changes: Karrde looks terrified, covered in sweat and blood. He must be wounded.

The audio cuts in and out with the shorting holo, “– under attack! – weequay – damn pirates! – can’t hold them back! – fuck! –”

The transition ends.

Ahsoka turns it off. “It’s not a request for help.”

“No, but it’s the closest to one you’ll ever hear from him. And if it is the weequay pirates, we have to go after them.”

“Do you know where to find him?”

Mara leads the mad chase with _Jade’s Fire_ , landing down in the forest not too far out from the base. Smoke blackens the sky. The small band of Jedi and volunteers charges through the underbrush.

She will never tell, but Mara’s pulse races. This attack strikes too close. Karrde is her oldest friend, despite the divergence of their paths.

She bursts into the base and fire, shouting, “Karrde! Karrde! Gods damn it, Karrde! Where are you?!”

Above, the ceiling groans under the weight of the collapsing roof. Mara shields her eyes and keeps moving forward, the others follow closely behind her.

The farther they move in, the more desperate she becomes, “Talon!”

Coughing and hacking, he answers, “Mara.”

“Karrde!” He props himself against an unstable wall. “Karrde, what happened?”

“Damn pirates! Came out of nowhere!” Karrde coughs some more and passes out.

“Ona! Get him to safety! The rest of the group, search the base for survivors! This place is going to come down on top of us, move fast!”

“Where are you going?!”

“I’m going after the security data!” _Whoever’s doing this won’t get away this time._

Fire blocks her path to the surveillance room; Mara goes another way. She pulls the neck of her shirt over her mouth and nose as the smoke and ash grow thicker and presses on.

Mara has two hopes as the fire surrounds her: 1) Karrde has not changed the pass code for the security files and 2) that they can show them something useful. What good will it be, risking her life for this information, if it yields nothing?

A portion of the ceiling caves in and Mara only just manages to duck into the surveillance room in time.

The technical equipment burns from the heat of the fire, but the old pass code works ( _she was always telling Karrde to upgrade his security systems, even the less important ones; she is glad he never paid attention_ ). Mara downloads the data.

More groans from the ceiling make Mara nervous. Grabbing the hilt of her lightsaber, she slams through several walls.

_Everyone better be out, because this place is coming down._

 Throwing caution to the wind, Mara keeps running, her steps light and attention sharp.

There is no wall at the edge of the building; her escape visible through the haze. She leaps from the height into a light rain and lands with a thud. The others shout for her in the distance, but she cannot yet will her muscles to move.

Mara lies there quite some time, breathing heavily and letting the rain wash away the soot.

\----------

A half dozen gurneys are rolled through the Temple to the medical wing, followed closely by a procession of the wounded.

Ahsoka nudges the younglings at her feet back into the training room, “Wait here.”

Another wave of the injured passes. Sam pushes by to see more.

“Aunt Mara?”

Of those who are marching in this grim parade, Mara is the last person Ahsoka expected to see.

“Go back inside, Sam, and don’t say anything to your cousin,” she orders then pursues the wounded to the medical wing. Ahsoka finds Mara lying on a cot, oxygen mask covering her mouth. “What happened?”

The med droid answers, “Some minor burns and smoke inhalation. Patient recovery estimated: two days.”

Mara stares crossly at the droid. Pulling the mask off so she can speak, “I’m about to dismantle that droid.”

She replaces the mask and digs for something in her singed robes. When she finds it, she passes a small datadisc to Ahsoka.

“Security records from Karrde’s base,” she explains, mask off again. “Hopefully, they caught something.”

“I’ll have them analyzed right away,” Ahsoka promises though she has her doubts. Discovering who is behind the attacks will not help them catch the pirates.

“How is Karrde? He wasn’t doing very well on the flight home.”

“I’ll check on him for you.”

“And Luke. You’ll let him know I’m alright.”

“Of course. Would you like Shmi to come and see you?”

Shortness of breath returning, Mara replaces the mask and nods.

Ahsoka does everything asked of her before returning to the training rooms. Karrde also suffers from smoke inhalation and burns, far worse than Mara’s, but nothing he will not recover from; it sets Mara at ease. Klossi Anno diligently takes the disc for analysis. Luke takes the news about Mara calmly; he will he be home soon.

The younglings wait eagerly for Ahsoka’s return. She sends Shmi off to her mother and answers their barrage of questions.

“Alright, alright. Back to practice everyone.”

They return to their exercises with only a few complaints.

Class dismisses; her students disperse to their rooms or their homes, Han collects Sam and Bee with Pres already in tow.

Ahsoka transforms from teacher to general as she enters the communication center. Masters and knights gather around the holotable. Luke and Leia speak quietly to the side.

“How’s Mara?” Ahsoka asks on her approach.

“Better. Shmi’s still with her. We’ll probably spend the night here.”

“Good. And what’s the situation like in the senate?”

Leia takes a deep breath, “Total panic. They’re still waiting for the Order to get a lead. They tend to forget we have to work together.”

She crosses her arms and huffs, “I hate to admit it, but at least Separatist leadership is being cooperative.”

She has come a long way since believing in the black and white ethics of war, but politics still baffle Ahsoka. How does the senate manage to be so ineffective?  She puts aside her frustration for the time being; they have to work together on this.

Klossi arrives, all eyes land on her.

“My team and I have managed to recover quite a bit of the data on this disc. We were lucky it wasn’t more badly damaged.”

The holo projects a multitude of frames, each displaying a portion of Karrde’s compound. By the looks of it, the images are from before the attack. The recording is sped up, cutting in and out where the data could not be salvaged.

Then suddenly the attack begins. Alert sirens echo through the halls; people run every which way, disappearing from one frame and reappearing in another. When the pirates break down the doors, it is pandemonium.

“There!” Inyon points and the holo pauses. “Proof it is the Sevilles and Vallaidos working with the weequay.”

Their clothes are branded with crew symbols, almost obscured by the poor holo quality.

Ahsoka loses herself in the smugglers’ struggle to fight back when the recording resumes. They were completely overwhelmed.

“Pause again,” this time it is at Luke’s request. He steps closer as if it will make the image any clearer, “I recognize this weequay. I’ve met her before.”

Answering an unasked question, “I tried to negotiate with her on Florrum – the day Mara told me she was pregnant.”

Leia voices what they are all thinking, “That was almost seven years ago, Luke. Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

A ripple passes over the assembled, focusing on their adversary. Ahsoka breaks concentration on the other frames, depicting the grim defeat, to examine her too.

Her eyes go wide, rapt with attention.

Softly, but not lacking in certainty, “She’s no weequay.”

Every head turns towards Ahsoka.

Voice growing, “She’s doing a good job hiding it, but she’s a Nightsister.”

“A what?”

She forgets the younger generations do not remember the Nightsisters.

“A Dathomir witch.”

“Impossible,” Jiro objects vehemently. “Grievous exterminated the lot of them years ago.”

“Clearly he missed one,” Ahsoka cannot bring herself to believe it. “But I don’t understand, she was reported dead at the Battle of Sullust.”

Of all the people to survive the Clone Wars, to weather the Empire, she never expected _her_.

Worry lines Leia’s face, “You know her, Ahsoka?”

Darkly, “Her name is Asajj Ventress. She was Dooku’s assassin.”

\----------

The day Mara is released from the medical wing is the day Karrde regains consciousness; barely audible he asks for Luke and Mara.

His voice is harsh and raspy, but he does not need an oxygen mask to breathe.

“I owe you,” Karrde tells Mara.

She nods without a word. Karrde is nothing if not an honest smuggler. Deals, trades, and debts are worth more to him than currency, rejecting a favor would be miserly; he does not let red in his ledger go untended.

“ _You_ have debts to settle with me,” he jabs a finger in Luke’s direction.

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want any information you have on the bitch who attacked us. And if the Jedi capture or kill her, we’ll consider that two debts you’ve cleared.”

Luke’s stomach unclenches. He is saved the awkward task of refusing Karrde’s request by the nature of it. Information he has no issue divulging. If Karrde had asked him outright to kill Ventress, it would border on mercenary action.

The Jedi have been cautious not to become their predecessors by lashing themselves to one government or another; the opposite is tricky as well, not to work for hire or as vigilantes. The balance they have reached keeps both extremes at bay.

Regardless, these debts are between friends; Luke will do what he can to fill them and honor Karrde’s code.

“How many more debts will that leave me with?” he asks lightly.

Grins crack across both Karrde and Mara’s faces.

\----------

Dozens of voices rise up against her, shouting.

“You’re taking us too far into Republic territory!”

“I did not sign up to be gutted with a lightsaber!”

“Are you trying to get us killed?!”

“I didn’t sign up for this!”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“Who put you in charge?!”

A few of the closest reach for their throats, trying to suck in the air; they fall to their knees. The rest shut up on their own.

Ventress’s eyes narrow, “You dare question my authority? _I_ pulled your crews together. _I_ made you profit. If it wasn’t for me you’d all still be licking mud in the Outer Rim.”

Her crew stands back, doggedly loyal, none of this undermining of her power. They know their place. The Vallaidos and Sevilles must still learn it. What good is a pack if they threaten to over throw her at every snag?

Though betrayal by Dooku and abandonment by Talzin have taught her trust is overrated.

Her display of the Force ought to be enough to straighten them out for now.

Ventress releases them.

“So the Jedi scum are after us. Anyone could have guessed that would happen –”

One of the men, a Seville, on the ground charges at her. Ventress blows him back into the wall with an unconcerned wave of her hand. Blood spills from his head when he hits the floor.

“We are not foolish enough to engage them directly. We’ll hit them where they least expect it.”

Bitter and resentful, Ventress does not care what trail she leaves behind her. The galaxy has been nothing but cruel to her. Why should she be anything else back?

( _They will pay dearly._ )

\----------

There are no trademark lightsaber wounds or scarring anywhere.

_I don’t get it. Ventress must know we’re after_ her _. Why bother hiding?_

Ahsoka stands ankle-deep in the mud, the rain starting to soak through her hood. She shivers from the damp. The others search the remains of the settlement for survivors. Ahsoka thinks only of tracking down her old adversary.

But if Ventress means to remain shrouded in mystery, she will not make it easy. Ahsoka would know. Over twenty years underground, she knows how to live undetected.

Ventress must be even more practiced in the art of disappearance.

_If she wasn’t dead, where was she? Why so suddenly cut off from Dooku? Unless Dooku turned on her…_

Ahsoka shivers more violently, her spine tingling. If only she could attribute it to the wind and rain, but the similarities are too glaring to disregard.

Ventress was a Jedi youngling once; Ahsoka can only guess how she entered Dooku’s service. Then her master turned on her – probably tried to kill her, probably thought he had – and she vanished. She must not have had anyone to turn to in her time of crisis. Ahsoka feels a pang in her chest; it is pity. Though fortune did not favor her, there was Padmé in her most desperate hour.

Whatever they did after their masters’ betrayal, they were left to carry on alone.

Rain continues to fall on the wreckage with no sign of stopping. She trudges forward, her feet barely escaping the thickening mud.

She will not find anything here. Meditation has not yielded anything; Ahsoka dreads the prospect of damage Ventress will cause before they can catch up with her.

“Master Ahsoka, we found survivors!”

Lifting her boots high above the mud, Ahsoka quickens her pace. “Are they conscious?”

“One,” Bant informs her. “He’s inside with Master Chase.”

The roof of the building they have taken shelter in leaks. Chase tends to the wounded, relieving their pain with Force techniques Ahsoka was never cared to learn; she envies them a little now.

“I’ve done all I can, but they need a real doctor.”

“We’ll leave as soon as we can,” Ahsoka assures her then turns her attention to Chase’s moaning patient. “It’ll be alright. I’m Master Tano. Can you tell me what happened?”

He shakes his head, plainly in shock, “They came out of nowhere. They wouldn’t stop. Their leader – she told them to take everything.”

“Ahsoka! Come quick!” She apologizes, and wastes no time answering the summons. “We’re getting reports of multiple attacks – all in the core. It looks like they’re making their way to Coruscant.”

“And Ventress?”

Set shakes his head, “Nothing certain.”

Ahsoka slams the hull of a starfighter with her fist. _Damn._

Making the call, “Draw back.”

“But that will leave the Outer Rim and the Confederacy defenseless!”

“If Ventress is after the seat of the Republic we have to protect it. She’s been waiting for an opportunity to slip past us. We can’t let her.”

They are two of a kind; Ahsoka is loathe to admit, but they have always traveled two separate paths.

It is when those paths crossed Ahsoka always feared a change of course.

\----------

The rapid drop in altitude feels like she is being tightly stretched across the wing of a starship then her body is released from the strain and the violent shaking begins.

Their approach is unprecedented ( _a tactic learned from an old enemy_ ), forgoing the landing bay and setting down in the capitol district of the city.

Ventress shouts out orders for all hands to make ready for their assault. She kept her promises to the clans: they are wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. Time for them to keep up their end of the bargain. They must take the capital now, or not at all.

Their dramatic entrance and landing should have been enough to take them by surprise.

The crew storms off the ship and into the streets of New Aldera, killing and pillaging as they go.

Sunlight blinds Ventress, but she sets her sights for the capital building.

A small group accompanies her. Charging through the cobbled streets, they break their security with relative ease ( _Alderaan never did set much store in violence; it stands to reason its successor would not either_ ).

Above her the battle rages on. Explosions are barely visible against the pale blue skies and their sound of deafened by the atmosphere; she senses triumph in space.

To the west, the pirates topple a memorial to the original system.

The galaxy mourned Alderaan, but spared no tears for the Nightsisters. They will weep for both before this is over.

\----------

As though all the air has been sucked from their lungs, the packed senate watches the enormous holo projection. Senators, representatives, aides, ambassadors, dignitaries, Jedi – people spill into the halls and cram into the viewing galleries to watch the latest distress message.

“We are under attack! Our forces cannot hold them off – oh gods! They’ve broken through!”

A collective gasp echoes in the chamber.

Leia stays stock still. She feels Han’s longing to reach out to her; she wishes for a moment they would forget senate propriety.

Far older and frailer than Leia’s first memories of Corla Metonae, the governor of New Alderaan whispers urgently, “We need help before –”

Blaster shot straight to the head. The thud of her body falling to the floor is so final.

It seems as if the holo has frozen until a smoking barrel enters the frame followed by its owner.

Asajj Ventress is larger than life in the recording; in her heart, dread makes Leia believe the woman who holds New Alderaan is a giant. In her head, she knows her fear of this woman she is seeing clearly for the first time is only an illusion.

She rasps as if she cannot speak any louder than a half-whisper, “I’ll be waiting.”

The holo cuts out; the chamber returns to grey.

Cries of terror and protest all rise up at once.

Mon tries to calm them from the chancellor’s seat, “We must not panic! To panic will be to give into this pirate! Leia Organa of New Alderaan, have you any response? Senator Organa?”

But Leia is no longer on the senate floor.

Mon’s voice fades quickly as Leia pushes her way out of the crowded pod and into the empty hall; the pulse of her blood the only sound in her ears.

No. This cannot happen again. She will not lose another home. Not now. Not after how far they have come. Alderaan cannot fall again.

She will take it back ( _single-handedly if she has to_ ).

“Leia,” her name is muffled and indistinct. It calls again and again, but she cannot turn back to face them. The ground behind her is burning. One step backwards and she would be engulfed in flame.

_Leia stop!_

The voice is stronger than the pounding of her heart. She halts in her tracks.

Luke runs up beside her. “Leia, you have to come back. They need you in there.”

“No! They need me out there! This won’t be like the last time! I can save them!” Sometime during the heat of her response, Leia took up the hilt of her lightsaber, and started hammering it and her other clenched first against Luke’s chest.

She is not helpless this time. She will not stand and watch as another home – more people she loves are taken away from her – from her children.

The more she pummels her brother, the more Leia is afraid she might burst into tears. She did not cry for her home until weeks after, she is certain she will be quicker to it this time. All the blame she placed on herself for Alderaan’s destruction creeps back into her mind.

Suddenly his arms are too tight around her to keep hitting him.

“You will, but not alone. We’ll be there.”

Leia settles into Luke’s embrace, her arms pinned between them; her heart still troubled, “Why is she doing this?”

“We’ll find out.”

When they return to the senate, Han is waiting outside New Alderaan’s seat, worry lining his face. She finds herself wrapped in his arms as she was on Endor before stepping back into the senate chamber.

Holding her head high, Leia makes a formal declaration on New Alderaan’s behalf to the Jedi Order for help and announces her intention to join them in the battlefield.

Silently she dares anyone to oppose her decision.

\----------

New Alderaan can see explosions among its stars again.

The pirates hold their ground too well, for villains whose tactics are so often to cut and run.

The Falcon rocks back and forth under heavy fire. Han is reminded of dodging what remained of the planet he was supposed to deliver Luke and the old man to.

“Incoming! We’ve got fighters on our tail!” Lando watches the radar like a hawk.

Chewie roars at them to man the guns.

As they scramble up the ladder into the pods, Han has more flashbacks to _that_ day.

A fighter enters Han’s sights.

Despite his best efforts to stop himself from getting dragged into the Death Star, and getting dragged into the war, and getting dragged into having feelings for Leia and Luke, Han still found himself in a situation he could not control.

He takes a shot. Miss.

Lando whoops loudly over a hit of his own.

He waits for it to come back.

Han’s memory sees Leia, fresh out of her cell, take Luke’s blaster and make their escape route. Taking control from the moment he met her – how could anyone think she would not fight for the home she spent ages trying to find?

( _If only she was here instead of on one of the Jedi freighters, but the Falcon’s be upgraded to Republic military vessel once again._ )

The fighter makes another pass. Direct hit.

It is followed closely by a friend.

Han concentrates: Leia squeezing Pres and the girls to her chest, keeping them close so they cannot see the strain. Their final night at home before taking off; she let herself cry then, blaming Tarkin, the Emperor, Vader, Ventress – herself. She scolded him when he tried to shoulder some of the responsibility ( _“You would have died too.”_ ).

For her. For Pres, Bee, and Sam. For Alderaan. Han does not miss again.

\----------

Though the stars are his natural home, Luke relishes the solid ground beneath his feet ( _dirt does not sink like sand_ ).

If they are ten klicks out of New Aldera, then they might as well be ten thousand, but the Jedi have broken through the pirates’ defenses. Asajj Ventress will give them a fight for their credits, a far more difficult task than pushing back the poorly organized but unpredictable pirate forces.

Leia watches the skies for some sign of the Falcon.

Luke keeps a close eye on her, keeping their promise to each other; she is also calmer on the ground than in the air above New Alderaan.

She turns away dismayed.

Perhaps it is better they cannot see the Falcon just now. It means Han has scraped his way through another battle and is not currently in any danger.

And neither, apparently, are they. The Jedi seem to have slipped through unnoticed. They take their time to collect themselves and breathe the evening mountain air.

Luke switches his attention to the horizon ( _old habits_ ).

From what Leia has told him, the mountains on Alderaan were even taller than the ones here, which make the mountains of Naboo look like foothills.

Had events gone differently, he imagines how small a boy from a world with an empty skyline would have felt in their shadow. Maybe he would have felt dwarfed by them ( _overcome by the size of the galaxy_ ) or maybe he would have barely noticed the change in his surroundings ( _overcome by the size of the galaxy_ ).

A hand slips around Luke’s waist.

“Are you planning to take off and leave us to do the dirty work?” Mara asks teasingly, removing Luke from his trance.

“No. Just wondering our things would have been different – if our places had been switched.”

Another alternative tugs at his mind. Though the majesty of mountains has taken hold in his heart, he could only have seen the stars so well from Alderaan, blinded by city lights and blocked by tall peaks.

He puts himself in Leia’s place: home ripped from him rather than willingly given up. The pains she went through to find somewhere comparable to the world she lost become his. The fragility of the system weighs down on him.

Mara presses her warm lips to the nape of his neck; Luke feels only the burn of twin suns.

“I prefer the farmboy to the Alderaanian prince.”

His response is cut off by orders from Ahsoka

“We need to start moving towards the capital. Mara, I want you, Set, and Ona to scout ahead. Somebody must have seen us land. Ventress will try to catch us off guard – better not let her.”

Mara nods and waves the two young knights forward.

Ahsoka and Leia congregate at the center of the group; Luke joins them.

Leia holds a holo of the city, “We’re due south of New Aldera. There’s not much surrounding the city by way of cover. She’ll see us coming.”

“We better move fast then,” Luke adds. Leia looks at him with gratitude and relief she did not have to be the one to suggest it.

As if they would do anything less for her.

\----------

Pirate after pirate charges at her; Leia cuts them down one by one.

They stand between her and her goal. It was their choice to needlessly throw their lives away for whatever cause Ventress is leading them on. She wonders if the Nightsister truly even has one or if she is merely a malcontent.

Leia fights bitterly. Her fear put behind her, she only sees the path before her soaked in blood.

( _It is not how her parents raised her, but she never did get to avenge Alderaan before._ )

The last one carries a sword-like weapon and pounds down on her lightsaber until she is able to throw him back.

He comes at her again, intending to slice her through. This time his blade snaps on contact with hers.

Eyes open wide as he realizes what is to come.

He falls into the carrion.

The others carry on their individual battles. The younger knights are pinned down behind their cover, barely able to stand to deflect blaster shots. Experienced Jedi push forward, but only slightly. The pirates dig their heels into the dirt.

Leia swears under her breath. They will get nowhere coming from this direction. Losing the battle is bad enough – losing ground is worse, but what choice do they have?

Frustrated, she orders their retreat, “Fall back!”

She, Luke, Kennan, and Kai are the last to turn their backs to the pirates.

In their sprint for the foothills, a shot catches Leia in the side. She cries out at the same time as Luke; he stops in his tracks to defend her.

Fear and panic flood her; she will not make it home and if Luke stays to fight here neither will he, “What are you doing?! Keep going!”

“Are you crazy?! We’re not leaving without you! Kai, can you carry her?!”

The bothan scoops Leia up, Luke and Kennan covering the retreat.

Shame sinks into the pit of Leia’s stomach as they run to catch the others. How could she have been so careless?

Her thoughts turn bitter again.

In her desperate need to take back New Alderaan, she put more on the line than she was willing to risk. She compromised what she was taught ( _by her parents and by the New Order_ ) and what she holds dear for speed and a chance for vengeance.

She does not take part in strategizing their next approach. Chase bandages her wound ( _no bacta tank available to them_ ) and as long as the connection holds Leia speaks to her children.

They clamor to be near to her and her to them; she hopes they do not see how tired she is.

“We heard from dad, yesterday,” Pres tells her.

“He thinks they’re getting closer to breaking the pirate fleet!” Sam squeals, delighted.

Leia sees through Han’s fib, but does not say otherwise.

Tepidly, Bee asks what they all want to know the answer to, “When are you coming home?”

“As soon as we can, baby.” After today, she does not dare make any promises. Redirecting the conversation, “Tell me about school. Is Winter making sure you do all your homework?”

She will not give on New Alderaan, but the reminder war comes at the cost of oneself does not go unheeded.

\----------

Ventress’s scouts were wrong: the Jedi do not approach from the south.

They must have circled around to the east in the night.

Storm clouds gather, blocking the sunrise. If they were counting on the morning light creeping over the mountains as an ally they were sorely mistaken.

“Bring out the prisoners. We must greet out guests properly.”

Her lips twitch slightly when she truly sees the dirt-covered and battle-weary Jedi. They are in no shape to pick a fight.

“Nice of you to drop in!” she shouts down at them, prisoners just out of sight. “Sorry I can’t invite you in, but the place isn’t ready! We weren’t expecting visitors, you see!”

The other pirate captains snigger into their hands.

A voice she has not heard in an age is carried on the wind back up to her.

“Ventress, we can either do this the hard way or you can surrender yourself and New Alderaan now!”

Skywalker’s whelp. Tano.

And fortuitous.

She doubts her ability to pry the answers she wants out of the new Skywalker. Tano… Tano is a different story.

“You know how I hate to be a bad host, especially to Skywalker’s obnoxious little pet, but I have to disappoint you. This is my answer –”

The first prisoner, an ancient general, is pushed forward. Ventress had intended to do them in with her blaster, but this occasion calls for something special. She brandishes her lightsabers; sure to make a dramatic show of the red blades before gutting the man and sending him toppling over the wall.

The next one is prodded to the edge.

\----------

A second corpse lands on the first.

Leia ( _slowly healing from her wound, but pale with fatigue and nausea_ ) identifies them: General Vanden Willard and General Walex Blissex of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Mara looks to the top of the wall, her eyes locking briefly with the Nightsister’s.

She expects anger and rage to flood her, but they do not come. Her world frosts over; she feels nothing. Cruel and heartless – just like a Sith.

Standing like a statue, Mara listens to the next declaration shouted down at them, “Come and try to take the city from me!”

Fire rains down on them; they are forced to fall back, shots rebounding off their ignited blades.

“Until the Republic breaks the fleet, we have no chance of getting close,” Jiro submits.

As if the sheer overwhelming numbers of the pirate gangs and clans were not enough, Ventress has the stronger position and supply lines. Impatience twinges in all of them; they must wait it out, all other plans would be suicide.

“We’re at a stalemate.”

Mara pulls hard on Ahsoka’s arm, “When you said that witch was Dooku’s assassin, did you forget to mention apprentice?”

“I should have guessed you would figure it out.”

Lies. Lies of omission.

Now Mara’s temper flares; in the back of her mind, there is relief and a flash of envy. The witch was given the teachings Mara craved, learning came alongside suffering.

“Mara, are you going to be alright?” Her voice is filled with concern.

The whole group watches her tentatively. They know where she comes from, Mara wishes they did not then they would not be acting like she was teetering on the edge.

She casts a glance back at New Aldera. She let go of the hate and anger methodically disciplined into her; Ventress is trapped in them. For the first time, Mara pities someone trained in the ways of the Dark Side. Ventress was not made all powerful by it. It consumed her.

( _Mara was almost swallowed whole._ )

Mara’s sympathy does not change what Ventress has done or what they have to do.

“Let’s break their supply lines. Then we’ll deal with the witch.”

\----------

The skies grow darker every day, but the clouds do not break. Humidity rises. The battle above is thunder without rain.

They wait for news.

They suspect dissent among Ventress’s ranks; they sowed it.

Two days past, a group of the Servilles were caught scouting the outskirts of the city. While the others preferred to hold them hostage, Leia had another idea.

Waving a hand in front of their faces, “Ventress has no interest in your profit anymore. You will convince your crews to abandon her.”

Tricked, the pirates returned to New Aldera.

“It’s too easy,” Kennan grumbled.

Leia is less worried about the ease ( _she is convinced her mind trick only worked because the pirates were already feeling deceived by their leader_ ) and more concerned about the ethics. It is not an area she is comfortable with.

But two days have passed and there have been no signs of infighting. She is beginning to think it was all a waste.

Real thunder rolls in. The sounds of the battle in space curiously absent.

Leia’s comm chimes in the stillness. The nearby Jedi gather around as Han appears on the holo.

“Some of the ships are jumping to hyperspace. Like they just got tired of the fight.”

The call is cut short by ion canon blasts.

Seddwia laughs, “Looks like your scheme worked!”

Ventress is not totally abandoned yet, but if Leia learned anything from falling in love with a half-assed smuggler, the pirates will look to their own hides first.

The humidity finally breaks and the heavens open up, spilling heavy rain onto the open battlefield.

Fresh mud splashes with each step.

\----------

Ventress is everywhere and nowhere at once, leading her through a labyrinth far removed from the rest of the battle.

Pattering against the shining buildings, the rain of the past few days continues.

Ahsoka turns sharp corners and changes course more times than she can count, chasing Ventress’s presence through the streets of New Aldera.

Flashes of red and echoes of laughter taunt Ahsoka.

“Show yourself! Or are you still afraid of being beaten by me!”

Her goading is met with a battle cry; Ventress leaps at her from an unseen location, duel blades crashing down over Ahsoka’s head.

They crackle against her block.

“You’ve yet to defeat me once.”

Ahsoka throws the red lightsabers off her green. They both jump backward for distance, taking readying stances and waiting for each other to strike again.

Ahsoka spins her lightsaber in hand, gripping it more comfortably in the reverse.

A thin, crooked smile breaks out across Ventress’s face. “Looks like your master never broke you of your bad habits!” More sinister, “Or maybe that was intentional.”

Her words are punctuated by hoarse cackles.

The blood drains from Ahsoka’s face. Her knuckles go white.

Ventress cannot know – not for certain.

Rumors still circulate, true, but no member of the Order would betray their trust. She must sense the truth in the Force.

Ahsoka sees only the red of Ventress’s lightsabers glowing and coloring her vision. She jumps at Ventress, swinging wildly.

Ventress ducks and swings back.

Blades lock together again. Ahsoka feels hers slipping, giving Ventress the advantage.

“I’m surprised, Tano.”

“You’ll find I’m full of those.”

Her laugh is more like a bark, “Not about you. About Skywalker. He always seemed to be the Chancellor’s pet. Why did he let Vader loose on him? Unless, of course, that’s not what happened.”

“You’re getting touched at your age, Ventress. The only one clinging to a Sith’s cloak was you!”

Ventress breaks the lock, throwing Ahsoka off balance and slicing her blades across the air between them in opposite directions. Unsteady as she is, Ahsoka is nearly caught by them, back-flipping out of the way only just in time.

Theirs becomes a dance of narrow avoidance. Neither can touch the other. Ventress only hints at what she wants confirmed by Ahsoka’s tongue. And though her manner suggests Ventress’s proximity to the truth, Ahsoka will not let it be pried from her.

The rain worsens as they duel. Thunder clapping in time with lightsabers colliding. Lightning striking perilously in the mountains beyond the city’s boundaries.

When one thrust comes too close for Ventress’s comfort, she breaks into another run.

Determined not to lose sight of her target, Ahsoka takes off after her.

The streets are more cluttered here – more rubble, more destruction. Ventress must have picked this direction for that purpose.

The rubble is hurled through the air at Ahsoka.

She dives to the side.

“Do you really think you can protect him forever?! Is it really worth it?!” Frustration drips from every word; her thirst for substantiation taking control of her.

Worth it to protect Anakin? No. He has admitted as much himself: denunciation ( _to finally be held responsible_ ) would be a blessing. But he agrees his desire for accountability is not reason enough to lay rumor to rest.

Worth it to protect Anakin’s family? Yes. So they may never face the accusations meant for the man who will never hear them ( _and once was frightening enough_ ).

Another giant stone hurtles down the street.

“Answer me!”

Lightning flashes and for an instant Ahsoka sees clearly a crazed look in Ventress’s eye.

“You have the only answer you’ll ever get from me!” she shouts, hoping it reverberates between the tall glass buildings like canyon walls.

But Ventress is too quick to be fooled by simple tricks, her head snaps in Ahsoka’s direction; predator and prey positions switched.

Ahsoka runs.

She turns her comm on, calling for assistance. “I’ve got Ventress on my tail, track my signal and cut her off!”

Slipping and sliding on the wet streets, she heads into the fray; Ventress determinedly pursuing.

More flashes of lightning, Ahsoka catches the elongated shadows of Jedi running alongside them. She feels out for them in her blind spots; they surround them on all sides. Ahsoka halts in tracks.

“Giving up so easy, Tano?”

“You’ve forgotten one very important detail, Ventress. I’m not here alone.”

Lightsabers ignite in a chain reaction.

For a tense moment, her eyes narrow as if to make an escape attempt. Through the rain, Ahsoka sees the fight die in them.

The curved hilts are tossed into a puddle at her feet.

\----------

Binders are a useless precautionary measure for Force users. She could, if she wanted to, blast away her unsuspecting guard; Ventress behaves herself.

The guard, however, stalks about like an animal.

“Would you desist? I am on trial, not you.”

Green eyes flash at her, but the guard says nothing.

The two women stare each other down as if to size each other up, but there is little point: the Jedi lords her authority over Ventress.

“I’ve seen you before.”

Grudgingly, “The gates of New Aldera. You murdered the rebel generals.”

Ventress notes her guard uses the word ‘rebel’, not ‘Alliance’. Nor does she have the lofty air of self-righteousness Ventress associates with the Jedi breed.

The guard sneers. ( _Not that it is missing completely._ )

Ventress does not recall the specific face. She raises her brow noncommittally.

Their silence resumes.

Then Ventress feels it, the growing resentment.

“You’re not like the others.”

Her guard ignores her.

“Yes. You have a touch of the Dark Side in you. Hiding among the Jedi.”

“I am _not_ hiding,” she insists.

“Does Skywalker know who you are?” Ventress goes straight for the top of the New Order; her ambition is not easily missed.

“Not that it is your business, but my _husband_ knows exactly who I am.”

Ventress staggers; her nostrils flare in an attempt to save face. The guard gives a self-satisfied smirk before turning to answer the door.

“Mara, they’ve made their decision. They’re calling Ventress back in for her sentence.” The envoy delivers a quieter personal message as well, “And your daughter called, said General Antilles’ girls offered to have her over for the night.”

“Thank you, Bant. We’ll be right there.”

The Chancellor passes sentence from high seat. The galaxy looks down on her, but Ventress’s thin lips curl upward.

\----------

Ahsoka never liked the Coruscant’s military base. Its dark, imposing presence on the skyline always filled her with dread.

She does not like it anymore now as a prison ( _too reminiscent of the Empire_ ). Were she anyone else, Ventress would have been placed in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. But her Force abilities set her apart from other prisoners; she requires extra security.

Republic troops escort Ventress inside. She glares as she passes then smiles unsettlingly.

Leia makes a sound of disgust, “Good riddance to her.”

Ahsoka tries her hardest to remain impassive.

Her stomach flips anyway as the gate shuts: the Nightsister on the opposite side.

Putting Ventress away solves only one problem. If she suspects, so do others. Others who may not share her verve for the truth. Others who may be more dangerous.

Either way the dam will not hold forever.

**Author's Note:**

> See author bio for discussion on this 'verse.


End file.
